Transformers Prime| The Gifted

One| A New Friend

       A middle-aged brunette with straight neck length hair was staring intently at one of the papers in her hands. There were stacks of papers around her desk, all neatly organized to the side. She adjusted her glasses which had a barely noticeable crack on the right lenses but this small damage wasn't too distracting. If she could read, then they are still in good use. 



A soft knock had caught her attention as eyes landed on the door. "Come in." Then the door swung open revealing a female worker. 



The woman sets down her papers on the desk and then grabs a book to her left before walking over to her. “Can you deliver this book to a young boy, dear?”  



She takes the book from the woman's hands. “Of course, um, where is he?” 



“He’s in one of the private study rooms, Dear,” she added before the girl nodded and walks out of the room.  



The girl made her way down the stairs, making her way straight towards the private study rooms. She stops, and to her right was a hall with four rooms and there were signs right above the glass door. Only one room emitted light, she approached the door and raised her gaze—the sign read: No. 3. Her gaze moves down, through the door was a young boy, scribbling down notes on his notebook and his laptop to his left.  



What really caught her attention was his unnatural spiky hair. 



A smile crept its way on to her face before opening the door. Almost immediately, a rush of cold air greeted her cheekbones, but this didn't faze her. Her presence hasn't been acknowledged, so she proceeds to knock on to the door and his head shot up to meet her gaze.  



“Sorry to interrupt, but I just came to drop by and give you a book.” She then approaches the table and places the book down, and she smiles apologetically. “Again, I'm sorry for interrupting.” 



He shakes his head. “N-no, that's alright.” he nervously eyes around the room before his eyes briefly meet hers. “You sound different.... no! Wait I mean-” 



She couldn't help but burst out into a fit of giggles while he stuttered with his words, and his whole face turned red from embarrassment. “I know what you're trying to say, and the answer is yes. I'm not from here, in fact, I'm actually from Europe.” 



The boy's eyes stared at her in awe. “Wow, really?” 



She hums in approval as she pulls a chair over, sits down, and then rests her arms on the table. “The differences in the way I speak are the ways I pronounce certain words differently." and she went on, showing him some examples. 



It might have been a couple of minutes of her rambling but enough to make him feel more comfortable around. He had warmed up to her quickly and began to chime in confidently. Eventually, it was time for him to leave for the day and she accompanied him outside. 



She hands over to him the book and he had a puzzled look before explaining that he has to return it in three weeks. His eyes lit up and thanked her before he walks down the many steps and hops into the black and yellow muscle car, but not before waving at her to which she returned the same gesture. 





                                                                                                                           -x- 





She had lost track of time while running errands that it was almost time for her to head to work and she was now at a hurried pace, speeding past bystanders at the sidewalk. Her home wasn't too far from the library, in fact; it was a couple of blocks away. As the school building came into view, she made sure to look both ways before crossing the streets and continued with her journey. However, passing by a tree she abruptly stopped in her tracks to hear a commotion to her left. 



“What's the matter, hm? Waiting for your mommy to pick you up?” a male teen with bright red hair said mockingly whilst a group of other teens behind him began to snicker. 



“Leave me alone, Vince,” a familiar boy with spiky brown hair said as he clutched his books tightly onto his chest. He looked uncomfortable with the presence of the older teen in front of him. 



Suddenly, the teen, Vince, reaches down to grab the collar of the boy's shirt and yanks him closer to him causing him to lose grip onto the books, which ultimately fell onto the ground. Vince was now staring directly at him with an irritated gaze, and this look intimidated the younger boy. 



“You think being tough makes you feel special? Wrong.” Vince declared and with his free hand, he was about to show the boy who was the toughest around. 



Yet he didn't get to do so, because he was held back by someone. Confused, he looked over to his left and raised his gaze to see a girl standing right there, holding his wrist which prevented him to hit the boy he was still holding.  



“He asked you to leave him alone. Now, I'll ask you once, let him go,” she demands. 



Vince scoffs and a smirk spreads on his lips. “Or what... cutie? You gonna mace me--” 



He didn't get the chance to finish his sentence when she suddenly twisted his arm making him yell out from the pain. His grip loosens from the boy's shirt collar, setting him loose. Her grip from his arm didn't move and whenever he attempted to move away, she would twist it further, causing him to whimper and go down on his knees. When his cries were enough, she sets him free from her grasp and almost immediately he scrambles up to his feet and flees the scene with his group of friends. 



She turns to look at the boy with his head hanging from shame. “Hey, you ok?” she asks whilst kneeling to his level. 



He raises his head to meet her gaze with a nervous smile. “Yeah... I'm fine.”  



She shakes her head in understatement as she picks up the book from the ground. He reaches down to help with her, but she stops him. “Don't worry, Raf. I got you covered,” she reassures him before standing up. 



“You know, I've had my fair share of ungrateful people throughout my life and most of them aren't nearly as bad as this one.” her eyes lands on him. “He has no rights to pick on anyone or even lay a finger on them.” 



She places her hand on his shoulder and then smiles. “But the most important is that you didn't get hurt or else things could've escalated for the worse.” 



“Yeah.” he agreed with a sigh of relief. 



“Come on, why don't you accompany me to the library and what for your parents to pick you up, hm?” she didn't have to wait for a long reply and he immediately was ready to go. 



As they both walked side by side, everything felt completely fine when a normal semi-truck was passing driving by. For some reason, there was this strange sensation that washed over her. It was extremely odd. She had her hand hovering over her chest and had turned her head around to catch a glimpse of the semi-truck before it took a turn and disappeared. 



“Lucy, you ok?” he asks while tilting his head to look up at her. 



Her head turns and looks down at him. “Yeah, I'm alright. Just thought I saw something familiar.” she lied and puts up a reassuring smile.  



They arrived at the library and head inside; a rush of cold air greeted them immediately as they made their way towards a square-shaped table to the left. Lucy places the books on the table before she takes a seat which Raf had followed suit on the opposite side.  



Raf couldn't help but notice something shiny around her neck, eyeing it with curiosity. “What's that?” 



She blinks and follows his stare down to her chest. “This?” Her hand then removes something from underneath her clothing and revealed a necklace. The chains were made from silver and it had an orb like-shape; its shades can be described as the galaxy, a mixture of hues such as cyan, aquamarine, sapphire and a hint of violet.  



“It's a necklace that my mum gave to me when I young.” she stares at the necklace, silently admiring the craftsmanship it was put into it. “It's a special item that has been passed down from generations in my family. It once belonged to my mom's grandmother, my mum, my sister, and now to me.” 



“Wow. That's something you don't hear every day!” Raf said in pure awe. “Does your family live nearby?” 



The look in her eyes changed drastically and there was a look of sadness. She refrained from looking directly at him and instead kept her eyes glued on to the necklace she held with her fingers.  



“No. They live in Europe...uhm, London; they live there.” She raises her gaze to meet his and smiles. “They inspired me to become what I am today. I'm grateful for that.” 



“Do you miss being with them?” Raf asks. 



“A lot.” was all she said before hiding the necklace back underneath the sweater she wore. 



Then Rafael's phone begun to vibrate from his pockets with the music blaring at full volume. He fumbled to get his phone and at one point almost dropping, and he successfully answered the phone. 



“Hello?” he said in a hushed tone. 



On the other end of the line was his friend from high school asking where he was. “Jack? Uh huh – At the library with Lucy.” 



“Who?”  



“Oh... she's a friend. I wasn't at school because something happened but don't worry! Everything's fine now.” Rafael lets out a small chuckle. 



“What happened?” 



“Uh... look I'll tell you later, ok?” with that he hung up the phone with a sigh. “Sorry. It was a friend of mine.” 



Lucy shook her head in understanding. “That's okay, Raf. Although, next time try and have your phone on vibrate alright?” she teasingly said which caused his face to redden from embarrassment. 



Then there was a loud honk coming from outside, so she stood up from the chair and approaches the door to see who it was. It was the muscle car and whoever was at the wheel was waiting patiently for Rafael. 



“Lucy.” 



She looks down and next to her was Rafael staring directly at her.  



“Thank you for defending me from Vince,” he said. 



“You're welcome. If he ever decides to bother you again don't be afraid to tell me, plus, I can teach you some helpful tips to make him regret ever bothering you again,” she said with a wink.  



“I'll keep that in mind for next time!” Raf said before exiting through the doors and hopping inside the car. 





                                                                                                                             -x- 





The hours had passed since Rafael had told them about the ordeal. Those who overheard the conversation were absolutely horrified. Yet, he reassured them that nothing escalated further if it weren't for Lucy's interference. After he finished telling his day, the rest went on with their day, but a certain Japanese teen wouldn't let the topic die. 



“How are do you think she would punch – You think she's an agent in disguise – Maybe she’s some sort of superhuman!” she rambled on enthusiastically. 



“Uh...” Rafael didn't know what to say as she continued. 



“How long have you known her?” she blurted out. 



Rafael blinks. “Three months...?” 



She folds her arms with a raised eyebrow. “Three months and you still haven't asked her out on a date?” 



“No! She's way older than me, Miko.” Rafael's clarified with a reddened face. 



She then bursts out in a fit of laughter. “I'm just messing with you!” 



The sounds of an engine echoing throughout the room can be heard; a truck appears through the tunnel and then stops in the middle of the room before transforming. A large sentient being now stood there and he's well-known to be the leader of the Autobot's; Optimus Prime. Before he could take a step, the children's conversation had caught his audio-receptors. 



“Tell us everything about her Raf!” She exclaimed excitingly. 



Rafael adjusts himself comfortably on the couch. “Um... she does work at the library nearby.” 



She leans closer. “... and?”  



“That's pretty much it,” Rafael said, much to Miko's disappointment. 



Optimus discreetly walks over to the monitors of the med bay and seemingly acts to check on something whilst still listening to their conversation. 



“I'd like to meet her personally just to thank her for handling Vince,” Jack admitted as he now slouched forward on the armchair, his arms resting on his legs and Miko shakes her head in agreement.  



Then their conversation steers away from the girl they were mentioning and were now engaging themselves with the video game console. He was beyond curious after their conversation had ended and was beginning to wonder about this girl they were referring. Optimus secretly hoped that she wasn't involved. The last thing he'd need was another human to be a part of their war and be a potential target for their enemies to use against them.